Definition of Pseudomonas pseudomallei

Pseudomonas pseudomallei: A bacterium that causes an infectious illness called melioidosis or Whitmore's disease that is most frequent in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia.

Pseudomonas pseudomallei is found in soil, rice paddies and stagnant waters. Humans catch the disease by inhalation of contaminated dust or when soil contaminated by the bacteria comes in contact with abraded (scraped) skin.

Melioidosis most commonly involves the lungs where the infection can form a cavity of pus (abscess). The bacteria can also spread from the skin through the bloodstream the brain, eyes, heart, liver, kidneys, and joints. The common symptoms of melioidosis are not specific. They include headaches, fever, chills, cough, chest pain, and loss of appetite. Melioidosis can also cause encephalitis (brain inflammation) with seizures (convulsions).

The diagnosis is by a microscopic evaluation of a sputum (spit) sample in the laboratory. A blood test may detect early acute cases of melioidosis.

The treatment of melioidosis involves antibiotics and depends on the location of the disease: